


Flight

by EmilyoftheDrums



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time
Genre: I feel sorry for the Sheikah, M/M, Wings AU, and Link is a rich kid with a sad past, the ship will come eventually
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-28
Updated: 2016-07-28
Packaged: 2018-07-18 21:52:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 18,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7331899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmilyoftheDrums/pseuds/EmilyoftheDrums
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sheik has been on the run for two years, constantly having to hide from the people who would seek to ground him from ever flying again. He is forced to live with his wings bound to avoid suspicion, until one night he simply cannot take the pain and tears the bindings off in a secluded alleyway. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite as secluded as he'd hoped.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Discovery

Sheik was pretty sure he was going to collapse in the middle of the street if he had to keep this up much longer. He felt like his wings were broken in thirty places, he hadn't eaten in five days, and he'd had to resort to collecting rainwater to drink. No one in their right mind would offer food or shelter to a Sheikah. Not these days. 

He was lucky, he supposed, that he'd managed to avoid the cut so far. Yes, he had to travel with his wings tied flat against his back, and he had to carry a large bag to hide the still-obvious wing lump under his clothes, but at least he still HAD wings, unlike most of his people. 

A long time ago, he'd been the nephew to his tribe leader, he'd been a perfect child, but not anymore. Not since the law had passed. Every Sheikah had to submit themselves for grounding, and all tribes larger than twenty people were effectively disbanded. It had been the ruination of the race. No one had survived unharmed, and many had not survived at all. Sheik had been reduced to travelling Hyrule alone, hoping to find some small settlement of people like himself. It had been two years, now, and no such settlement had made itself known to him. 

Night was falling fast, and the Hylians of Castle Town were hurrying back to their homes, giving the dirty Sheikah a wide berth, of course. Sheik had come here on his way to Kakariko Village, holding onto some slim hope that a few people might still live there. 

The sun dipped below the horizon, taking with it the last of Sheik's strength. He limped into a small, filthy alleyway, slumping down against the wall and shrugging off his bag. No one was watching, were they? Good. 

It took him less than ten seconds to tear off the top half of his clothing, and then he was tugging at the bindings that held his wings in place. When at last they were free, Sheik dropped face down into the damp floor, sobbing with relief. He was hungry, he was exhausted, but at least his wings were free. For a short while at least, he could be himself. 

"You're a Sheikah, aren't you?" 

The sudden voice sent an icy dread through every vein in Sheik's body. He sat up, slowly, can't look threatening or they'll kill you, and raised his hands in the air in a gesture of surrender. 

The person who had spoken was a Hylian boy, about the same age as Sheik, with bright blond hair and curious blue eyes. He didn't look malevolent, but the worst ones never did. 

"I've never seen a Sheikah with wings before." The boy's tone was matter-of-fact, and he took a few steps closer, a set of beautiful leaf-green wings fluttering behind him to add a little extra spring to his step. Sheik stayed frozen where he was, wondering if there was any possible escape from a situation like this. "So, Sheikah, how come you haven't had your wings cut?"

Did he answer? How did he answer? This Hylian was going to have him killed no matter what he said, so he might as well be truthful. 

"I ran away the same day they announced the grounding law, sir, and they haven't caught me yet. Please, I beg of you, show mer- why are you laughing?"

The Hylian was bent almost double with laughter, his wings sparkling and quivering in his mirth. For the life of him, Sheik couldn't figure out what was so funny, unless this boy was some sort of sick sadist who was going to derive pleasure from watching him beg for his life before he was eventually, inevitably put down like an animal. 

"You called me SIR!" The Hylian snorted with laughter, breathing hard for a few moments before straightening up and wiping tears away from his eyes. "I'm eighteen, not fifty! And my name is Link. May I know yours?" 

"Sheik," said Sheik. He cautiously lowered his arms, folding them across his still-bare and thoroughly filthy chest instead. Link seemed awfully informal and cheery for a Hylian meeting a member of the species they'd been taught to hate since birth. "If this is some sort of sick joke, please, just kill me now," he said wearily. "Don't draw it out like this. Just do whatever you want with me and then go home, why can't you?"

Link's cheerfulness evaporated almost immediately at his words, and for a moment, Sheik thought he was just going to pull out a knife and end it right there. 

"Kill you? Why would I do that?" He looked so genuinely shocked- those eyebrows were going to fly off his face if he wasn't careful. "You looked hurt. And your wings are all bent. I came to find out if you needed help."

A part of Sheik, and a large part at that, was still absolutely certain that this Hylian meant to kill him. He'd pretend to be kind, and then stab him when he least expected it. That was just how these things worked. 

But another part of Sheik had lit up at the promise of help. Maybe there would be food, a soft place to sleep, perhaps even the luxury of warm water to clean himself with. The boy's green tunic looked to be well-made and fairly expensive, so it was likely that he was from a well-to-do family. 

"What sort of help?" He mustn't get his hopes up. He really shouldn't. It was just going to end in disappointment. 

"I mean, I live in the manor by the edge of town. It was my parents' house, but then they died." Link glanced down at the floor for a brief moment, then shrugged and looked back up at Sheik. "So, it's mine now, and I'm lonely. You could come and sleep in one of the spare rooms for a night if you wanted. And there's plenty of food if you're hungry."

Sheik couldn't help it, really, he couldn't. He choked back a sob, leaning forwards in a bow of gratitude so low that his fringe touched the dirty floor. Link looked bemused at the gesture, feet shuffling awkwardly on the ground. 

"Um... If you're coming home with me, you might want to hide your wings again. People are gonna ask questions otherwise..."

Sheik straightened up, coming to his senses enough to manage a 'thank you' and to stop himself from doing anything embarrassing like crying. He shook out his golden-brown wings, preparing to bind them again for the walk back to Link's house. He was past caring if this rich boy was actually just going to take him back and murder him, now. 

He had hope, and hope was a hard thing to kill.


	2. Welcoming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Link welcomes Sheik into his home, and Sheik worries a little that he's being TOO nice.

Link's house was larger than Sheik had imagined. And the inside was grand enough to make him feel like he was sullying the very air by just breathing it. Link had taken one look at the muddy feet and told Sheik to wait on the doorstep whilst he fetched a pair of clean shoes, which turned out to be silly fluffy slippers that Sheik had absolutely no objection to at the moment. 

The warmth of the house was absolutely blessed, too. Sheik tugged his upper clothes and bindings off at the door, letting out a happy sigh as his wings felt warm air again. It had been so long, probably since before the law was passed, since he'd been properly and pleasantly warm like this. 

Link took a few steps towards what Sheik assumed was the kitchen, and then changed his mind and beckoned for Sheik to follow him up a carpeted staircase instead. 

"I figured you might want a bath before you eat, um, I'm gonna guess you haven't washed in a while?" Link grinned sheepishly, eyes flicking over the dirt staining almost every inch of Sheik. To be fair, he was right. Having grown up in the desert, a bath was a luxury that was utterly unheard of. 

"That sounds...great," Sheik managed. He was still somewhat overwhelmed by the whole situation, too much so to bother with being particularly eloquent. 

Link just grinned and headed down a corridor, pushing open a door into a bathroom. Sheik just sat down on the edge of the bathtub, deciding that this whole house was just too big, too much for him to take in. He didn't say a word as Link leant over him and turned on several taps and mumbled something about hot water. He did, however, lean back a little to examine the Hylian's wings. 

They were quite large compared to those of many Hylians Sheik had seen, almost as large as his own. It was both a blessing and a curse that the Sheikah race had been given such large wings, frankly. They were perfect for flying far and fast, but in times like these, they were desperately difficult to hide. 

Link's wings were also a fairly unusual colour. Most Hylians had wings that were blue, with some bordering on a rich turquoise, but Link's had tipped right over the edge into an unusual shade of green. Sheik almost wanted to reach out and touch them, but that would be a severe breach of etiquette, especially considering how little they knew about each other at the moment. Wings were fragile, and only those people that the owner of the wings trusted most were allowed to touch them. 

"Your bath's ready," Link said suddenly, and Sheik snapped out of his reverie and thanked him. "Oh, and I'll leave some clean clothes just outside the door. You aren't that much taller than me, I guess my stuff will fit you? And then I'll go make some food. The kitchen is back downstairs and then on your left, you can't miss it. See ya in a bit!" 

With that, Link walked out. Sheik was left alone to his thoughts, and he had many of them. The one at the forefront of his mind was the question of why in Hylia's name Link was being so NICE to him. What possible reason did a rich young Hylian man have to take in a dirty Sheikah fugitive? 

Unable to produce a decent answer, Sheik shrugged to himself and pulled off the rest of his clothes, testing the bath water with a cautious hand before climbing in, careful not to squash his wings. 

-

About twenty minutes later, Sheik stepped into Link's kitchen, feeling like an entirely different person. The bath water had been filthy by the time he'd finished washing two years' worth of street dirt off of himself, but now he felt real again. He felt better than he had for a hell of a long time, even wearing the very-much-too-small Hylian clothes that Link had provided for him. 

"Thank you," was the first thing he said. "I feel as if I owe you my life, Link. If there's any way I can repay you for your kindness, please don't hesitate to tell me and I will do it immediately. The goddesses are smiling down upon you now, I feel certain of that." He bowed his head respectfully, looking up to find Link just smiling at him. 

"You look different now you've cleaned up. In a good way, I mean. Um, sorry if that sounded rude at first. Really though, don't worry. You don't need to thank me. I'm bored and lonely and I could really use the company. And you looked so sad and desperate and I couldn't just walk past." Link bit his lip, and for a moment there was something unreadable but heart-wrenchingly sad in his eyes. It was gone in a moment, though, replaced with a grin. "Anyway. I, um, I'm not the best cook. I made sandwiches, though?" 

He gestured to the table, where there was indeed a pile of rather sloppily made sandwiches. The sight of the food was enough to snap something in Sheik, and he rushed to the table and grabbed a sandwich, determined to get the food inside of him as fast as he possibly could. Link looked a little surprised, which Sheik didn't notice until he'd eaten two and a half sandwiches and calmed down a little. 

"I haven't eaten for almost a week," he explained, tone apologetic. "Forgive me." He sat down, putting a couple more sandwiches on his plate and smiling sheepishly at Link. 

"It's fine, I get it." Sheik doubted Link really 'got it'. He was clearly wealthy, there probably hadn't been a day in his life where he hadn't eaten. But he appreciated the sentiment nonetheless, appreciated that Link was being so forgiving and kind to him. He really was going to owe his life to this Hylian. Death had been hovering around Sheik like a vulture over the weakest animal in the herd for a while now, pressing down on him like a physical weight that no amount of running could distance him from. That feeling was gone now, though, washed down the drain along with the rest of the filth that had covered him. 

Link was fairly quiet as Sheik ate, just sitting and looking at the table. Sheik could feel eyes on him whenever Link thought he wasn't paying attention, though. The Hylian was clearly curious. Sheik just had to hope that it wasn't the sort of curiosity that one felt when studying an irritating bug that one intended to squash. 

"Thank you," he said again once he'd finished eating. "I owe you everything. I can be on my way now, if you wish. I do not want to outstay my welcome."

"What? No, you don't have to go!" Link seemed affronted at the very idea. "I mean, unless you want to. But... There's plenty of space, you can sleep in one of the spare rooms? They aren't very big, but surely that's better than the streets?" 

Sheik, once again, could do nothing but nod. He even managed a smile this time, grateful and relieved. Link's kindness was really starting to hit home, wiping away the suspicions he had held before. The Sheikah were good at sensing emotions, he would have spotted by now if Link had any ill intent. All he'd seen in Link was a boy with a warm heart and a lonely past that he kept well hidden and that Sheik wasn't going to pry into. 

"That's settled, then! Are you done eating?" Sheik nodded. "Alright, come on!" Link leapt up, making his way up the central staircase again and heading in the opposite direction to where the bathroom had been. "My room is here if you need me, and you can sleep, um, here?" He pushed open the door to a room a few doors down from Link's own. "This okay?"

"This is more than okay... I know I have said it already, but thank you so much. I am utterly in your debt." Link just shuffled awkwardly at his words, then headed off down the corridor to his own room with a small smile and a cheery 'goodnight'. 

Sheik stepped into the room, barely paying attention to the decor at the moment. All he cared about was the bed at the edge of the room, and how soft and inviting it looked. He did a quick check of the room for anything harmful, just in case, but found nothing, as he'd hoped. 

Not even bothering to pull back the blankets, Sheik fell face-first onto the bed, his wings flapping lazily a few times and then stilling. Their faint glow faded slowly in time with his drifting into sleep, and within five minutes, the room was pitch-dark and still.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I'm definitely turning this into a whole long story. Wish me luck.   
> ~Em


	3. Revelation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The matter of Sheik's departure is 'discussed'.

Upon waking up, Sheik had a few moments of panic- was this a jail cell, had he been kidnapped- before he remembered Link and relaxed again. There was nothing to worry about right now, for the first time in two years. The sun was streaming through the window, beams of light hitting his wings and making them glow with a deep warmth. 

He made his way downstairs, a slight heavy feeling in his heart as he realised that Link would probably want him gone very soon. There was only so long that he could be expected to harbour an illegal Sheikah in his home, after all. Ah, well. This had been nice while it lasted. 

"You slept for almost fourteen hours." The voice made Sheik jump, his old warrior reflexes twisting his body towards the sound almost immediately. It was just Link, though. He was dressed in another green tunic, and holding a cloth and the sort of stone one used to sharpen a sword with. "I was starting to wonder if you'd run away during the night. You hungry?" 

"I am, if you are willing to provide me with more food." Sheik eyed the cloth and whetstone a little nervously. "Is there any reason you were sharpening a sword? If you don't mind my asking, of course."

"Huh? No, don't worry, it's just an old family heirloom. I promised my father I'd keep it sharp and learn how to use it." Link set the cloth and stone on a table, wandering into the kitchen. "Um, what d'you want to eat? I had porridge, but I dunno if Sheikah eat porridge...?"

"We do." Sheik couldn't help but smile, amused by Link's naïveté. They were the same age, but it was clear that the Hylian had not experienced hardships as Sheik had. He was still innocent and sweet, almost childlike in his mannerisms. 

He sat down and watched as Link set about making more porridge, tapping a rhythm on the kitchen table with long fingers while he waited. There were many questions he wished to ask Link, but that would be impolite. Someone of his lowly status could well be executed for asking questions of a Hylian noble. 

Sheik are hungrily when the food was ready, painfully aware that he might not get another good meal for a long while yet. It would be back to utilising his stealth training to slip bread rolls or apples from market stalls soon enough, and he should make the most of this comfort while he had it. 

As he had yesterday, Sheik kept noticing Link's eyes on him as he ate, particularly on his wings. Sheik didn't think they were anything special, really. The typical sandy golden-brown of the Sheikah, perhaps a little larger than average, and rather dulled and crumpled from being hidden for so long. He wasn't sure he could still fly properly on them anymore, not after the two years of abuse he'd been forced to put them through. It would take careful training and attention to get them back to flying shape, and he wasn't going to get a chance to give them that at any time soon. 

Sheik finished his food, setting his spoon down with a quiet 'click' and turning to Link. "Will you be wanting me gone soon?" 

"'No!" The reply was immediate, and sharp enough to set Sheik's nerves on edge. "I mean- sorry. You can go if you want to. I just thought- I'm sorry, it was presumptuous of me to think you'd stay..."

"I- why would you want me to stay? You're endangering yourself by having me in the house. If anyone finds out, they could arrest you for harbouring a fugitive." Sheik couldn't quite believe what he was hearing from Link. He sounded upset at the thought of Sheik leaving- really, genuinely upset. 

"I just thought you might want to stay longer. I can hide you, but I suppose if you want to go, then..." Link stood up suddenly, shaking his head and walking out of the kitchen. Sheik was left alone, confused and at a total loss for what to do. How was one supposed to deal with an upset Hylian noble? 

He just sat there for a few minutes, contemplating what to do. His eventual conclusion was that really, it only seemed fair to go after Link. After he'd been so nice, it was only right to comfort him. 

A couple of minutes of investigation found Link sitting in a too-large armchair in a grand living room of the sort Sheik had expected to find only in the royal palace. There was even a portrait over the fireplace, showing who he assumed to be Link's parents, although strangely enough, Link had not been painted with them. 

"What do you want? I would have thought you would have left by now." Link shot a glare at Sheik that seemed more upset than angry, and the shaking of his voice betrayed his true feelings. 

"I came to apologise," Sheik said gently, going to kneel by Link's chair. "I did not mean to decline your offer of further shelter, I was merely... Surprised. In all my life, no Hylian has shown me as much kindness as you have. I would be honoured to accept your hospitality for longer, if you will still have me."

Link burst into tears then, which was not a reaction Sheik had been expecting. He stood up, clasping his hands anxiously behind his back, and wondered what to say now. He didn't have to speak, apparently, because Link suddenly started talking very fast. 

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I just wanted someone to talk to... It's so lonely here since my parents died, I can't bear it any longer- they weren't even my parents, it's so stupid, I was adopted and I miss my old home and I've been lonely for so many months now..." He buried his face in his hands, shoulders shaking with sobs. "I'm sorry, I must sound so childish to you, complaining about being lonely when you've been alone and on the run for so long..." 

Sheik stayed quiet, still unsure of what to say. Now that Link had told him that, it would be cruel of him to leave. Link was just a lonely boy in need of companionship, and who was Sheik to deny him that? 

"It's alright," he said eventually. "I am really not sure how to comfort you, but please, tell me if you need anything. I have said before and I will say it again, I am in your debt and I will--"

He was cut off by Link standing up and hugging him tightly, although he was clearly being respectfully careful not to touch Sheik's wings. Sheik froze for a moment, totally unused to gestures of affection- especially from someone he knew as little as he knew Link- but he couldn't just not return the hug. 

"Thank you for staying," Link said softly. 

"Not at all. Thank you for allowing me to stay."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woop woop I can't write a LoZ story without making Link cry at some point.   
> ~Em


	4. Exploration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sheik has a look around, and finds some interesting things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was written with the help of the lovely Sam, who is StevetheIcecube here on AO3.

The rest of the day passed in a strange fashion, an 'I won't talk about what happened if you won't either' sort of deal. Link left the house to get food from the market in the afternoon, and Sheik couldn't resist the urge to wander the house a little. 

He left Link's room alone- his host deserved a little privacy, after all- but made sure to thoroughly explore the rest of the house. It seemed fairly normal, if a little bare in places. There had clearly once been a happy family here, but now it was just one person, and that one person had seemingly done all he could to purge every trace of his adoptive parents' existence from the house. 

One interesting thing that he did find was a collection of old letters stuffed into a drawer, correspondence with the royal castle, detailing an offer to enlist Link in the Hylian army. The final letter was a letter of rejection, which Sheik was interested to find read that the reason for his rejection was that he was 'not of pure blood', whatever that meant.

That seemed a little rude, honestly. Link was obviously Hylian or at least of strongly Hylian descent, so there should be no reason to not take him on.

Sheik was careful to put the letters back exactly where he'd found them, because he wasn't sure just how private they were. He wondered if Link even knew about the letters- they'd been pretty well hidden, and the correspondence hadn't been from him, but from his parents. The letters implied that Link would want to be in the Hylian army, but Sheik hadn't seen any evidence of someone who wanted to hurt other people in Link.

It wasn't long after he'd re-hidden the letters that Link got back from shopping, carrying a near-unreasonable amount of cloth bags and looking like he was struggling. Sheik went over to help him, smiling at Link's out-of-breath thanks. He couldn't imagine that Link would ever eat all this food before it went bad, and that sort of made him happy. He knew that Link wanted him to stay, of course, but buying food for him just made it seem more real.

"I, uh, I bought you some new clothes, too." Link pointed to one of the bags Sheik was carrying. "Mine are a bit small for you, and if you're staying, it just seemed nice, y'know?"

"Thank you," Sheik smiled at him and Link smiled hopefully back. "I appreciate it, although really, you didn't have to spend your money-" 

"No! I did," Link insisted. "You didn't have any of your own. I, um, I tried to find ones that looked like what you were wearing before, but there wasn't much..." That was because his clothes were from his Sheikah village, and no Hylian would be caught dead wearing anything remotely similar. 

"I appreciate the effort greatly." Sheik set the bags of food down in the kitchen, turning back to Link. "I took it upon myself to have a look around your house, I hope you don't mind. I stayed out of any private areas."

Link nodded. "When I first got here I spent ages looking around," he said. "It's a really big house. Um, did you see the covered courtyard?"

"No?" Sheik quirked his head to one side, interested. "I only explored the inner rooms of the house, I have yet to see any gardens."

"It's really nice," Link smiled, "and I thought you could, um, if you want to I mean, you could fly there. When I was younger I was scared of flying in public and I thought you could..."

Sheik wished he could have accepted the offer, he really did. "I'm sorry," he said gently. "Honestly, I do not know if my wings are capable of flight anymore. It will take weeks of care before they are back to proper form, perhaps even months."

Link looked shocked. "Oh... I'm so sorry." He looked horrified, actually, so much so that Sheik started to feel bad.

"It's alright. It is hardly your fault that I have had to live like that for two years." Sheik reached out a tentative hand to pat Link's shoulder. "We can walk to the courtyard instead?" Link nodded, clearly struggling to wipe the dismay off his face. If only other Hylians would realise what he'd been through, Sheik thought bitterly. But not everyone was as empathetic as Link. 

"Um, the courtyard is this way," Link said quietly. He gestured for Sheik to go first, and Sheik could feel his eyes on his wings as he walked. The staring was starting to go past curious and normal and into mildly worrying, and Sheik couldn't help but question it. 

He slowed his pace, walking next to Link instead. "I apologise if this comes across as rude- but, is there any reason that you look at my wings so much?"

Link jumped and quickly shook his head. "No, no, I'm sorry." He took a nervous breath. "They're just a different colour."

"Mine are hardly unusual for a Sheikah." He tensed his back, making his wings flare out wide either side of him. "If anything, they're rather underwhelming considering what they've been put through."

"You mean that your wings are normally even nicer?" Link blushed when he realised what he'd said, ducking his head and mumbling excuses. 

"Ah... They're certainly less dishevelled than this," Sheik said carefully. "You're very kind. If I may say so, your wings are rather interesting, too. An unusual colour for a Hylian such as yourself."

"Oh, I, um..." Link didn't say anything more for a while. "Thank you, uh, we're at the courtyard now." Sheik could have guessed that without being told, because the area they were in was certainly beautiful. A small, square garden with covering almost all the way over the top, save for a square in the centre of the garden where a small sundial rested on a plinth. "It's hidden from anyone outside," he said, "but it's still decently open. And it's really warm." Sheik nodded and stretched his wings out slightly. The warmth on them was nice, bringing an almost blissful smile to his face. 

"I have to say, I've never much been one for forests and greenery, but this place is lovely." Having been raised on the desert, Sheik hadn't so much as laid eyes on a proper evergreen tree before he was forced to come to Hyrule.

"I grew up somewhere much greener than this," Link had also spread his wings out a little further and they really WERE large for a Hylian, especially one of his size.

"Oh? Where was that?" Link just looked away when he asked, though. Clearly that was information for another day. "My apologies."

"No, no, it's okay." Link didn't seem okay with the question at all, though. "I'd just... I'd rather not talk about my past at the moment." 

"Don't worry." Sheik wandered into the centre of the garden, tracing careful fingers over the warm stone of the sundial. "The numbers here are written in Ancient Hylian, this is old..."

Link nodded and smiled, hurrying over to where it was. "My adoptive parents said it was built on the original estate when their family bought it, um, two hundred years ago?" 

"Wow. It is a beautiful piece of craftsmanship." Sheik tapped a finger to the sharp point on top, then rested his hand on the side of it. 

Unfortunately, Link decided to put his hand in the exact same place at the same time, although he withdrew it again quickly with a mumbled apology.

"Do you mind if I talk more about it?" Link shuffled from foot to foot, as if preparing to give a speech. "I love history." Sheik shook his head, inviting him to continue. "I've been researching it, and I think it was part of one of the original shrines before the age of decline."

"Really?" Sheik couldn't help but be impressed, taking his hand off the sundial in case he damaged it somehow. "Where have you been researching it?"

"There's the library in this house, and, um, I've also been using the royal library," Link said. "I'd love to go there more but they don't like it when outsiders visit a lot." 

"You're allowed in the royal library?" Once again, Sheik was impressed. "Your parents must have been well-connected."

"My father was twentieth in line to the throne," Link said, and Sheik's jaw dropped. That was...Link was probably richer than he'd even thought before.

"I feel as if I should be bowing to you," Sheik said, laughing. "That is really very impressive, to say the least."

"Oh, no," Link laughed. "I'm not anything in line to the throne because my parents and I weren't related by blood."

"True..." Sheik tilted his head up to the sun, enjoying its soft heat on his face. "I could stand here forever..."

"You'll have to go back in at some point," Link said quietly from behind him, but he didn't seemed too bothered about staying here for a while longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Gay Begins- it's only going to get gayer from here tbh.   
> ~Em


	5. Sparring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sheik is woken up by some odd noises rather early in the morning, and goes to investigate.

Sheik had been staying with Link for three days when he woke up to some rather unusual sounds from one of the house's three gardens. He'd thought he knew the rhythm of a day here by now, but apparently not. 

Dressing quickly, he followed the sound out to the back garden, where Link seemed to be swinging a wooden sword at a straw dummy. Sheik stayed quiet and watched him for a minute or so- it was interesting to see his host fight, there was something satisfying about the precise force he used to deliver each blow to the dummy. 

"Good morning," he called eventually, and Link almost jumped out of his skin, dropping the wooden sword.

"Sheik! Sorry, did I wake you? I was training, I promised my father that I would keep it up..." He trailed off, bending down to pick up the sword. "Um, do you fight? I have more swords if you maybe want to spar with me?" 

"Of course I fight, I am a Sheikah. We are not known as a warrior race for no reason, Link. Where would these swords be?" Link pointed in the direction of a shed at the back of the garden, and Sheik went to investigate. 

To his happiness- and admittedly his surprise- there were multiple types of training sword kept in the shed, including one very like the curved blade he had trained with in his youth. He picked it up and gave it an experimental swing, testing the balance. Not bad. 

"You probably haven't practised in a while," Link called to him as he emerged from the shed. "So I'll go easy on you. I don't want to hurt you or anything, y'know?"

"You can attack me with full force if you wish- a Sheikah does not easily forget their combat training." Sheik dropped his stance a little, ready to fight, and waited for Link to make a move. 

It was easy to spot when Link was going to strike- a tension of muscles in his left arm, an intake of breath, and then Sheik's sword was up to block the blow before it landed, skipping back a step to give himself room to think. Link looked surprised, but not discouraged, and he swung again- once more, Sheik blocked it with ease. 

"I told you a Sheikah doesn't forget their training," he said, grinning. Ducking under Link's next strike, he darted behind the Hylian and tapped his sword sharply against the centre of his back, just below his wings. "I win." 

Link turned to face him, a childish pout already in place. "Your fighting style is completely different to mine! How did you even know when I was going to swing?"

"You telegraph your attacks," Sheik explained. "When you go to hit me, I see your arm move, and you almost flinch as you go to land a hit. Any properly trained swordsman would see your moves from a mile away."

"Hmm..." Link seemed irked by that, and he took a few practise swings at the straw dummy. "Can we spar again? I want to try something different." 

"Of course." Sheik stepped back the customary few paces, and waited for Link to make a move. 

This time, though, there was almost no warning, just the barest hint of tension before Link struck- Sheik barely managed to block it in time. Well, looked like Link was a fast learner. No wonder his parents had been trying to get him in the army. 

"That's better," he praised, once again barely dodging a swing. Sheik made his own move, a strike to Link's unguarded right side that he blocked with a vibrating thud of wood against wood. "Much better."

Springing back a step, Sheik lifted his sword above his head and jumped to the side, wings beating as hard as they could to lend his jump a little extra momentum. Link spun around just in time to block the strike, which was forceful enough to knock him on his back. Normally, Sheik would have kept his balance with a few easy flaps of his wings, but with their deteriorated state, he couldn't help but fall right on top of Link. 

"Ow," the Hylian groaned, dropping his sword and looking up at Sheik, who was sprawled rather ungracefully on top of him. "Um..." 

Sheik coughed a couple of times- the fall had winded him somewhat- and looked right back down at Link. "Please excuse me, I don't normally fall over when I do that move..." He rolled off of Link, offering his hand to help him up. "Are your wings alright?"

Link gave them an experimental flap. "They're fine, thanks..." He looked mildly distracted, rubbing at his chest where Sheik's hand had landed when he fell. 

"Are you hurt? I know I fell quite hard, is there a bruise?" Sheik stepped forward, concerned, but Link shook his head quickly. 

"Nothing like that, don't worry. I'm fine," he said firmly. "Um, anyway- do you want some breakfast? I don't know about you but I'm STARVED."

"Breakfast sounds good, yes please." Sheik was still concerned, to be quite honest, but he knew by now that Link was stubborn. If he didn't want to talk about something, then it wasn't going to be discussed. He'd just have to puzzle over the problem himself and hope that Link would explain things to him soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooh two chapters in one day I'm so Organised™.  
> ~Em


	6. Urgency

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Link gets back home early, and Sheik is worried. He has a good reason to be...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All the chapters from this one will be edited by my amazing partner Sam, who is StevetheIcecube here on AO3. Go say hi, they're the best.

After their initial sparring match, Sheik managed to get himself into the habit of waking up early every morning to train with Link. It felt good to get his mistreated body back into its old shape, almost like he was still going to be a Sheikah warrior some day and he still had to prepare for that. In other words, it felt like there was still some hope for finding Sheikah in the future. And, he was finding that he and Link could both learn a lot from each other. Their fighting styles were wildly different, each with their own merits and drawbacks, and he could tell that Link had improved from sparring with a living person. He knew from experience that training alone was nothing like the real thing. 

In addition to that, he'd been working on building up the strength in his wings. Link often spent his afternoons at the market or in the castle library, and Sheik would use the time to carefully go through the sort of basic wing exercises taught to young toddlers whose wings were just growing in. It was tedious, so he'd do them whilst reading a book from Link's rather large collection. In the week and a half that he'd been here, he'd gotten through two volumes of old Hylian myths and legends, and it was interesting to see how they differed from the versions he had been told when he was younger (he also noticed that Link shared a name with the failed Hero of Time from ages past, but it was a fairly popular Hylian name).

The rhythm of the day had become so regular for Sheik that he couldn't help but be surprised and almost slightly alarmed when Link burst through the front door an hour earlier than he usually did, his heavy breathing echoing in the large hallway. Sheik set down the book he'd been reading and pulled on his shirt, frowning. 

"Are you alright?" He stepped out into the hallway, crossing quickly to Link's side. The Hylian looked stressed and fearful, a far cry from his usual happy, if slightly nervous demeanour. 

"No," Link said, leaning his head against the wall to better catch his breath. "Two things. I was talking to a girl in the palace library- I think she's called Tala, she works in the palace and she's there a lot- and she told me there's been rumours that someone in town's been hiding a criminal in their home. And-" Link paused here, chewing anxiously on his lip for a moment. "The royal guards are conducting searches of every house in town tomorrow."

The news sent a sharp chill through Sheik's veins- whether or not he was the criminal in question, if the guards found him in Link's house, they'd both be thrown in a cell in a heartbeat. "Don't worry," he said. "I, ah, I can hide. Or I can leave the house for a day. It'll be okay." He took a deep breath, trying to calm the sudden erratic tremors that shook his wings. "You- you said there were two things... Dare I ask what the second is?" 

"Oh, yeah. After she finished telling me about the searches, Tala, um, asked me on a date." Link bit his lip, glancing down at the floor. "And I just, um...left. That's why I was running." The tips of his pointed ears were flushed a deep pink, and despite the severity of the previous piece of news, Sheik had to contain a snort of laughter. 

"Link, you're a hopeless case," he said gently, reaching out to pat the Hylian's shoulder. A week ago, he perhaps wouldn't have dared say such a thing, but Link felt almost like a friend now. "Do you actually like her? Did the poor girl get an answer before you fled for the hills?" 

"Um..." Link laughed nervously. Sheik found himself surprisingly invested in what the answer would be, although he couldn't say why exactly he cared so deeply about Link's love life. "I mean, she's nice, but, I don't think I like her like that."

"Good," Sheik said immediately, and then frowned at his own suddenness. "That is to say, it's good that you didn't run off whilst you actually harboured feelings for her. That would have been a wasted opportunity." He coughed to cover for the slight blush that tinted his cheeks, hoping it would fade fast. 

"Huh, yeah, I suppose you're right." Link was quiet for a moment, and the silence between them stretched for an agonisingly long moment. "Um...having thought about it, I think there's a good place I could hide you."

"Oh? That's good." Sheik was glad for the change of subject, breathing a sigh of relief and following behind as Link headed upstairs. "It'll need to be somewhere pretty secure, the guards will be thorough."

"I know," said Link with a strange confidence that made Sheik wonder if he'd ever had to evade the guards or hide something from them before for some reason. He led Sheik into the bathroom, ducking down to open a cupboard next to the sink. 

"That's not secure enough, they'll check th..." Sheik's words died in his throat as Link shoved at the back panel of the cupboard and it swung inwards, revealing a small but certainly secure hiding place. "Alright...colour me impressed. I don't imagine they'll think to check there, especially if you put stuff in front of the panel. May I ask why your bathroom cupboard is built like that?"

Link shook his head. "I can't tell you," he insisted, pulling the door shut again with a decisive 'click'. "Is that alright for hiding in? I mean, beggars can't be choosers, but, um, I don't want you to be too uncomfortable."

"Link, I've spent the majority of the last two years living on the streets with my wings crushed against my back. I'm sure I can handle a cupboard."

"That's a good point..." 

And that was that, and the rest of the day was passed in an uneasy silence- Link staring at but not really taking in the contents of a book, and Sheik pacing fretfully up and down his bedroom- just waiting for the next day to dawn. 

Perhaps it would be Sheik's last free day. He wished he knew.


	7. Hiding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The royal guard pays a visit to Link's house.

Sheik barely slept at all that night. He was tense all through breakfast, jumping halfway out of his seat when someone knocked on the door only to have to sit back down when Link assured him it was only the postman, still delivering something to his parents despite them having been dead for quite a while now. He couldn't stand this. The agony of not knowing what was going to happen was almost worse than knowing for sure that he would be caught. At least if he knew, he wouldn't have this damned hope that kept him so fearful. He didn't want to lose this new life of his. It was so much more than he'd had for such a long time.

"You're gonna be fine," Link had reassured him several times, along with awkward arm-pats and tense smiles that betrayed how nervous he actually was. If he was caught, Link might get in trouble, too. Assisting a fugitive, or something like that. 

It was mid-morning when there was a loud knock at the door, followed by a call of 'open the door in the name of the royal guard'. Sheik felt a hot dread knot itself in his stomach, and without needing to be told, he leapt up and made his way to the bathroom as quietly as years of stealth training would let him. He could hear Link talking to the guardsmen downstairs, his voice a little louder and more high-pitched than usual. 

The comforting thing was, at least, that the guards didn't seem too suspicious of Link. Sheik could hear pretty well from this cupboard, surprisingly well in fact, which puzzled him until he noticed a small vent in the floor that must lead downstairs. 

This little space was hardly comfortable- it had clearly been designed for someone smaller than him. His shaky breathing echoed inside, loud enough that he was scared a passing guardsman might hear it. His wings were squashed tight against the back of the cupboard, the pain of it doing nothing to make the time pass any faster. 

"So, you live here alone, do you?" Sheik tensed and sucked in a sharp breath at how close the voice sounded, but it only took him a moment to realise that the guards must be checking the kitchen directly below the vent. 

"Um, yes, it's just me. Since my parents died. Just me." 

"Alright...how come there's two bowls on the side here? Surely a kid like you doesn't need two bowls for breakfast." Sheik winced, wishing he'd thought to be more careful with what he'd used as breakfast. Link sounded nervous, and Sheik wasn't sure if he was physically capable of producing a convincing lie when confronted so directly. 

"U-um, I...I had a friend over last night. He's gone now, but he stayed for breakfast."

"Right..." The guard sounded suspicious, and Sheik felt like he was just about going to burst from the nervous tension he felt. "Well, there's no one downstairs- mind if we check upstairs too, sir? Just to be safe, you know how it is."

"No, no, not at all." Link's voice moved away, out of the kitchen, and Sheik heard several pairs of footsteps on the stairs. He'd taken the precaution of giving all his clothes to Link this morning, and tidying his bedroom so that it looked like no one slept there. 

Ten more painfully slow minutes crawled by and the feeling of his nervous, fast heartbeat was getting painful alongside his shaking muscles. Sheik heard footsteps outside the bathroom, and he clamped his hand tight over his mouth to muffle his breathing. 

The door opened. There was shuffling, and faint humming from the guard who must be searching the room. They opened the top cupboard, clearly finding nothing of interest, and then they pulled open the bottom cupboard. 

The tiniest strip of light hit Sheik's arm, and he closed his eyes and prayed to the goddesses above that the guard wouldn't think to check the back of the cupboard. Please, he begged. Please, Hylia, let me live. 

And then the cupboard was kicked shut and the footsteps retreated, and Sheik released a breath he didn't even know he'd been holding. He bit back a sob of relief, not wanting to make any noise just in case another guard came in. 

None did, though. The footsteps eventually faded away back downstairs, and Sheik could faintly hear Link thanking the guards for their 'services to the protection of Hyrule' and ushering them outside before he sprinted back up the stairs and flung open the bathroom door. 

"Sheik! Are you alright in there?" There was the sound of the cupboard opening, and Sheik did his part and pushed down the fake back wall, crawling out of the tiny hole. 

"I am fine...cramped all over, but fine. Alive, and that is all that matters." He stood up and stretched, letting out a pleased groan at the wonderful sensation of being able to MOVE again. 

Link scrambled to his feet as well, shutting the cupboard behind him and grinning up at Sheik. "I think I did a pretty good job at covering for you with the bowls, don't you? I'm glad you're okay." 

"You did a great job." Sheik smiled back. "Thank you. You didn't need to do any of this- you could have called the guards on me the moment you met me, any other Hylian would have done that. But you've been so, so kind to me. You've given me more than I thought I'd ever have again. I can't thank you enough. I know I've said it before, but please. Consider me forever in your debt." 

Link didn't say anything to that. He scratched the back of his head in a nervous sort of way for a moment, and then smiled and wrapped his arms around Sheik. "Don't thank me. I know I haven't told you much about myself, much less than you deserve to know, but...I was lonely before I found you. And now I'm not. So thank YOU."

Sheik could have said something about how Link could have had anyone he wanted as a friend. He could have argued, said that providing company hardly made up for Link saving his life. But he rather enjoyed this hug, and so he stayed quiet and pulled Link closer to himself. 

Maybe having hope wasn't so bad after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sheik spent most of this chapter in a cupboard, but he got out out at the end, so I guess you could say...........he came out of the closet.........  
> ~Em  
> (ps- comments are really really appreciated because I feed off your reviews tbh. or you can just tell me off for my bad joke in the comments, either works)


	8. Shock

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sheik's clothes are missing, and lunch is interrupted by an unexpected visitor.

Sheik slept in the next morning. He figured he deserved it after yesterday, to be quite honest. Stumbling tiredly to the bathroom to wash himself, it wasn't until he was finished that he'd realised Link still hadn't given him back his clothes after having hidden them yesterday. Damn it. 

He glanced around the bathroom as if he'd find a tunic miraculously draped over a cupboard, but no such luck. Sighing, he wrapped as much of himself in one towel as he could manage and went to go find his host. 

Link was to be found downstairs after a brief search, sharpening a sword. Sheik knocked on the door frame and waited patiently for Link to turn around, which he did after a few seconds and a 'hold on a moment' sort of grunt. 

"Morning, Shei- ah..." Link cut himself off with an oddly strangled sort of noise, dropping the sword on his lap and pointedly looking at the floor as if he'd found something incredibly interesting in the carpet. 

"Morning, Link." 

"I, um, I forgot to give you your clothes back, didn't I?"

"Indeed."

"I'll- go and get them..." Link stood up slightly too fast, pulling his tunic down and making his way very quickly up the stairs. Sheik followed, amused to see that Link's ears were burning bright red. 

He waited around for a moment while Link fetched his pile of clothes, thanking the Hylian and raising an eyebrow as he immediately turned tail and shut himself in his bedroom. A curious sneak up to the door revealed no sound for a moment, and then what appeared to be a groan of frustration. Well. Alright then. 

Sheik headed back to his room and got changed, knocking on Link's door when he was done. "Are you alright in there? If you are busy, may I make myself some breakfast?"

"I'm fine," came the hasty reply. "And that's fine. Um. I might be a while..."

"Very well, if you're sure." Sheik couldn't help but wonder what had prompted Link to bolt away so quickly, and why he now seemed determined to hide away. He seemed fine, though, so the question did not worry him for long. 

\- 

It wasn't until midday that Link showed his face again, looking back to his usual self and cheerfully asking if Sheik wanted to eat lunch in the covered garden today. 

"Would you be able to fly there now, Sheik? I know you've been stretching your wings and everything, surely they're ready now?" 

Sheik looked hesitant- it had been only two weeks since he'd started the wing exercises, he doubted they were ready for flying. Spreading them out wide either side of him, he beat them a couples of times, the force of it lifting him about a few feet off the ground. The effort it took was enough to contort his face with pain. He landed, dropping to the floor on his knees and reaching up to soothe the pain in his shoulders and back. 

"I think it's best if we don't fly..." He looked apologetically up at Link. "I'm sorry. Give me a few more weeks and I'll be able to fly there with you, I promise."

"It's alright." Link offered him a helping hand to stand back up. "Don't rush yourself. No one's found you yet and they aren't going to. Just take your time in recovering, yeah?"

"I'll try." Sheik was quiet as Link led him to the kitchen, filling his arms with food. He knew it was to be expected that he would be unable to fly yet, but nonetheless... He was disappointed in himself. 

Lunch was fairly quiet. Sheik was busy contemplating his own lack of flight, and Link seemed preoccupied with something else. The Hylian had gone back to glancing at Sheik every time he thought he wasn't looking. 

"Hey, Sheik," Link said suddenly. "Um, you know this morning? When you came downstairs and, um, you weren't..."

"I do know. I was there, after all." A small smile played across Sheik's face. "Why do you bring it up?"

"Um, I just, um... I realised something. I think I--"

A sudden shrill scream shattered the moment, and Sheik's attention snapped forward to where a Hylian girl stood in the doorway to the garden. 

Link was out of his chair in a flash, but all Sheik could do was stay frozen in his seat. No. Please, no. Through blind panic and sickness deep in his stomach, he forced himself to listen to Link and the girl. 

"Tala, what are you doing here?"

"I- I came to see you after you left in such a hurry in the library, your front door was open... Why is THAT there, Link? What's going on?"

"He's just- it isn't- please, please don't tell anyone..."

There was banging on the front door, followed by the sounds of it bursting open. Sheik could hear someone in armour running through the house, and he knew he should run. He desperately wanted to run. But fear kept him paralysed, fear and disbelief and the hope that he'd learned to trust. 

A royal guardswoman with her sword drawn came into sight, well-trained eyes assessing the situation before her. "I heard screaming. Is everyone alright?" 

"No! I just came to see Link and he was sitting with- with that THING!" The girl who Link had called Tala pointed a shaking hand straight at Sheik, and it was as if the gesture had broken the paralytic spell on him. 

Sheik was out of his seat within a second, making a dash for the door. He pushed past Link and Tala, ignoring the shocked look on Tala's face and the anguished one on Link's. He had the element of surprise- he even pushed past the guard, and made it a good ten metres down the corridor before he heard strong wingbeats and something heavy slammed into his back. 

"If you know what's good for you, Sheikah, you won't run again," a voice growled into his ear. "Try anything funny and I'll cut your wings off right here."

Sheik didn't try anything funny. He stayed very still, painfully aware of cold steel digging into the skin just above his wings. He didn't even try to look back at Link, just let himself be half-dragged out of the house and towards Hyrule Castle. 

So much for hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sorry. Maybe a little bit. Next chapter coming very very soon because I'm not a COMPLETE SADIST.   
> ~Em  
> (ps- comments are still appreciated very much)


	9. Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jail is not a fun place to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here are what wings look like for different species, very roughly. 
> 
> http://heroofthesheikah.tumblr.com/post/147057274930/if-youve-been-following-my-story-flight-these

A Hylian jail cell was not a place you wanted to be, no matter the season. In winter, they were permanently damp and the stone was icy to the touch. Prisoners were liable to freezing to death- there had been at least five reports of such a thing from the previous winter. 

In the summer, as it was for Sheik, it was hardly better. The air was thick and humid, and the heat carried with it the stench of waste and rotting food and misery. The tiny window at the top of the cell poured a thin but incredibly direct beam of morning sunlight straight into the centre of the cell, which Sheik was currently staring at. 

It wasn't like he'd had anything else to do for the last eighteen hours of his life. He'd stopped panicking, resorting instead to a weary resignation that left him depressed and too achingly sad to sleep. This had always been going to happen. He was going to be put on trial, found guilty, and then he'd either be forcibly grounded or executed. Perhaps both, one after the other, so that he wouldn't even die with his wings intact. 

His worry for Link weighed heavy on his conscience, too. As Sheik had been dragged through the streets, he'd heard running footsteps behind him- a daring glance back had revealed Link, with Tala hot on his heels. As much as he tried, Sheik couldn't bring himself to hate the girl. It wasn't her fault that she had been raised in a world that despised anyone too different from the norm. 

Sheik just hoped that she'd have the decency to not get Link in trouble. He didn't deserve to be arrested. All he'd done was be kind, and welcoming, and friendly. He didn't deserve what Sheik was currently going through. If necessary, Sheik had decided, he was going to lie and tell the royal court that he'd used magic to coerce Link into letting him stay. Anything to get him out of trouble. 

Sheik was dragged out of his thoughts by the sound of heavy footsteps outside his cell. One of the prison guards was stood outside, a twisted sort of grin on his scarred face. 

"Do you want some breakfast, little scum?" The guard took a bread roll out from behind his back, waving it teasingly close to the bars. 

"Yes please," Sheik said wearily, knowing full well that there was roughly a zero percent chance of him actually getting the food. 

"Beg for it like the dirty little gutter rat that you are, then."

Sheik said nothing. If he had to be here, he would at least be here with his dignity intact. 

"I said, beg!" The guard aimed a kick at the cell bars, sending them rattling in their frames. "Do it, or you'll be missing your next three meals." 

"Go to hell." The words were absolutely a mistake, but Sheik didn't care. Let them punish him. Things couldn't get any worse. 

"What did you just say to me? You insolent little animal, I'll have you--"

"Guard! Step away from that cell, please, I wish to speak with the Sheikah. Scum though he may be, I reserve the right to see a prisoner if I wish."

Sheik's eyes widened at the sound of the voice- familiar, but with a regal hint to it that made him uncertain of who it truly belonged to. He scrambled to his feet, peering through the bars, only to see Link. This Link looked incredibly different from the casual Hylian teenager that Sheik knew, however. He was wearing some sort of embroidered green and gold coat, his hair had been neatly combed for once, and he stood as straight and tall as any young nobleman should. 

"Y-yes sir, I'm sorry, sir." The guard managed a hasty bow, practically falling over his feet to get away. Link watched him go, then stepped smartly over to Sheik. 

"I'll have you know, Sheikah, I'll be testifying against you at your trial. You will pay the price for what you did to me, I guarantee it." 

Sheik frowned, confused, resting a hand on the bars. Link's words sounded rehearsed. As quick as a flash, Link's hand shot up and pressed something into Sheik's fist under the pretence of slapping his hand away from the bars. 

"Don't touch me, you filthy creature! I'll be seeing you in court tomorrow." And with that, Link turned smartly on his heel and walked out of the prison. 

Sheik didn't dare look at what Link had given him yet. He clenched it tight in his fist, a sudden and dangerous spark of hope sending trembling waves of adrenaline through his limbs. 

Retreating to the corner of the cell, he hunched up on the floor as if crying into his hands. Slowly, carefully, he opened his fist and looked at what was inside. 

A piece of paper- a handwritten note- wrapped tightly around a small brass key.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Told you I wasn't a complete sadist.  
> ~Em


	10. Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sheik escapes from prison. Barely.

Dear Sheik,

I'll explain everything properly when I next see you. All you need to know for now is that there's a secret passage out of the jail inside the guards' sentry room. You need to press your fingers into the notches in the wall, and it'll open a door leading out to the woodland outside the castle. You'll have to deal with the guards yourself, so good luck. I'll meet you at the tunnel exit tonight. 

See you soon,  
Link

Sheik scrunched the note up in his hand as soon as he'd read it, fighting to keep the smile off his face. He couldn't imagine how Link had gotten his hands on the key to his cell, or how he'd known about the secret passage, but he wasn't going to complain. He just had to sit through the rest of the day in this cell, and then he'd be free. 

The time did not pass fast for him. Having grown up in the desert, Sheik was well used to the heat. But desert heat was dry heat, not this awful Hylian humidity that clung to him like a damp blanket and carried with it various foul smells. 

At least the smells sickened him enough to quell his appetite, although they did nothing about his raging thirst. There was no chance of getting water from the guards so Sheik didn't even bother asking, just sat in his cell with eyes half-closed and head leaned back against the wall, trying to use up as little energy as he possibly could. 

At about nine in the evening, there was some muttering and shuffling around, and Sheik sat up to assess what was going on. The current guards seemed to be leaving, which meant it was time for the night shift. He could make his move now, whilst the new set of guards were collecting their equipment. Perfect.

Standing up on silent feet, Sheik crept across his cell, key clenched tight in his fist. The bars of the cell were just big enough for his hand to slip through, but he was going to have to be careful. One wrong move, and he'd drop the key. Either that, or do something stupid like get his arm stuck. That would just be embarrassing. 

He glanced quickly around. No guards currently in sight, thank the goddesses. Sheik pressed himself against the bars of the cell, snaking as much of his arm as he could fit through the gap and twisting it round to push the key into the lock. It was painful, and he couldn't see what he was doing, but after a few seconds of scraping and fumbling, the key slid in. Good. Turning it was another matter entirely, and Sheik had to bite his lip to stop a pained cry as he forced himself to twist his arm to its absolute limit. 

The lock clicked. 

Sheik almost sobbed with relief, pulling his arm back through the bars and massaging at his sore shoulder. There was no time to lose, now- he slipped out of the cell and down the dark stone corridor, blending effortlessly into the shadows. The guards' room was at the end, and a quick press of his ear to the wall confirmed at least three voices inside, maybe four. Sheik would have the element of surprise, he could take them. Probably. 

He steeled himself for a fight, tucking his wings in tight behind him for easier manoeuvrability in the small room. And then he shoved the door open. 

The four guards inside were immediately silent, frozen in surprise for a few precious seconds that Sheik didn't waste. He kicked the nearest man in the chest, sending him crashing into a wall. The sound of their friend's unconscious body hitting the floor seemed to rouse the other three, who proceeded to leap at Sheik in an attempt to restrain him. He ducked under their blows, dancing to the other side of the room and picking up a small wooden stool. One of the guards foolishly tried to snatch it from him- Sheik cracked the man over the head with it, and he fell to the floor and lay there, unmoving. 

The other two guards seemed a bit smarter- they'd both drawn short swords from their belts and we're staying well away from him. Unfortunately, they were up against the wall where Sheik could see the five distinct notches that would aid his escape, so these guards would have to go. 

Still holding onto his stool, he leapt up into the air, his wings carrying him a short distance across the room before he crashed into the two guards, swatting their swords away with his stool. This was hardly elegant fighting, but he was desperate- he kicked out at the guards' heads, pushing them to the floor and throwing his stool down on top of them. 

He landed, quickly pressing his fingers to the notches in the wall and stepping back as a hidden mechanism clicked and a door swung open behind him. There was no time to marvel at the engineering- he sprinted down the passage as fast as his feet would carry him. 

It was pitch-dark after maybe twenty seconds of running, even the faint glow from his tired wings failing to push through the enveloping darkness. Sheik could hear shouts behind him- the two guards he hadn't bothered to properly knock out were no doubt giving chase to him even now. He leaned forward, extending his wings to give himself some extra speed. 

The first whistle-thud of an arrow came as a surprise- the second sent a bolt of fear through him. This tunnel was near perfectly straight, a decent marksman would hit him eventually. Two more arrows whistled past, one so close that the feathered end grazed his pointed ear. 

Then there was another whistle, a searing pain in the tip of his right wing. Sheik cursed quietly, drawing his wings in close and praying that the tunnel would come to an end soon. The arrow through his wing wasn't a catastrophic hit, but it would require some attention, and soon. 

Thankfully, it was less than a minute before he found the door. Sheik almost ran at full speed into it, but he just about managed to slow himself and feel around for the handle, tugging it open and stumbling out into the dark night. 

"Link?" Sheik didn't dare raise his voice above a whisper, and, getting no immediate response, shut the tunnel door behind him and started piling whatever he could find in front of it. There were a few large rocks in the area, those ought to be enough to hold the door firmly shut against the prison guards. 

Work done, he stumbled a few metres away and collapsed down into the damp grass, breathing hard. His face was red and flushed from running, and the adrenaline that had kept him going was really starting to wear off now. The arrow through his wing really needed dealing with before the rip could spread any further down- it wouldn't do to have one useless wing, not at a time like this. 

"Sheik!" The cry came before he could do anything about his wing, and then Link was on top of him, almost knocking him onto his back with a crushing hug. "Are you alright? I'm sorry I wasn't here earlier, I- oh, goddesses, your wing is hurt!" 

Link pulled away from him, concern in his eyes. "What are you going to do about it? I mean, you can't really go to a doctor, is it going to be alright?" 

"I'll just pull the arrow out and be careful with it for a few days. My magic will heal the hole." Sheik extended his wings, wrapping the right one around himself as best he could. It wouldn't quite go far enough for him to comfortably reach the arrow- damn it all, there was no way he was going to be able to get it out alone. "Link," he said apprehensively. "I hate to ask this of you, but I may be in need of assistance..."

Link looked as surprised as if Sheik had just asked him to take all of his clothes off. Sheik didn't blame him, people didn't just touch each other's wings all the time. But this was sort of an emergency. 

"Um, alright..." Link moved cautiously behind him, and Sheik closed his eyes and braced himself- although whether it was bracing for the pain or for the feel of another's hands on his wings, he didn't know. 

"I'll be as careful as I can..." A light touch to the wing just below the wound, and Sheik's heart skipped a beat. "S-sorry," Link mumbled, sounding flustered. He fiddled with the arrow a little, pulling the feathers off the end to make it easier to remove. "Tell me if I'm hurting you, won't you?" 

"I will." Link was hurting him a little, but it was necessary. This was a painful process, there was no getting past that. 

"Right, I'm ready. I'll pull it out on three, okay? Three, two, one, and..." Sheik hissed in pain as the arrow was pulled out, clenching his fists tight enough on the ground to rip up twin handfuls of grass. Link dropped the arrow, prodding gently a couple more times at Sheik's wing. "The hole is really small, it isn't bleeding much. I'll, um, stop touching you now." 

"Thank you for doing that." Sheik tucked his wings back in, close and protected behind him. "Where are we going now? The first place the guards will look is your house, and they might be thorough enough to search the cupboard this time." 

"Don't worry. I have a plan." Link stood up, offering a hand to help Sheik up. "There's a little hut in the woodland here, we can hide away in there for a couple of nights at least." Not bothering to let go of Sheik's hand, he took off running into the woods, navigating them as if he'd lived there all his life. 

Actually, now he thought of it, Link's wings really WERE an unusual colour for a Hylian's...

There was no time to continue that train of thought, though- they'd reached a small shelter of woven sticks barely big enough for the two of them to sit inside. 

"This is cosy," Sheik remarked. "Thank you, Link. You saved my life, yet again. I find myself even deeper in your debt, it seems." 

It was hard to see in the darkness, but Sheik thought that a blush might have coloured Link's cheeks. "It's nothing, honestly. You don't owe me anything. I just wanted to save you, 'cause you're... I like you, I don't want to see you get hurt." He looked down at his knees, shifting a little. "We... Um, we should get some sleep."

"That is the best idea I've heard in a long while." Explanations could wait until the morning. The heat of two people was making this shelter pleasantly warm, and Sheik hadn't slept in well over a day. "I'll see you in the morning," he murmured tiredly, glancing over at Link. 

"Hmm, not if I see you first..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops this took a couple days to do, sorry. On the plus side, it's the longest chapter yet! As always, comments are very much appreciated, and thank you for reading! 
> 
> ~Em


	11. History

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Link opens up about his past.

Sheik woke up with cramps in his neck and wings- clearly this shelter had not been the most comfortable place to sleep. Oh well, he'd slept in far worse places. He'd take a shelter like this over a filthy gutter any day. 

"Link? Are you awake?" He struggled to sit up, blinking over at the Hylian, who upon closer examination was clearly not awake. There was a slight frown on his sleeping face, and he twitched every few seconds as if something was bothering him. Sheik would have let him continue sleeping, but then he let out a sort of distressed whimper and one hand came up to cover his face. He sounded scared- that was no good, something had to be done. 

"Link!" Sheik bent down, gently shaking him. He didn't respond for a moment or two, but then his eyes flicked open and he stared up at Sheik with an expression that was pure terror. "Link? What's wrong?"

The fear passed out of his eyes, and Link sighed. He squeezed his eyes shut for a few seconds, then looked back up at Sheik with a shaky smile. "Nothing. I'm fine, honestly. Just... A bad dream."

He didn't look fine, though. There was a tremor in his voice, a scared spark in his eyes that betrayed how he truly felt. Sheik didn't bother replying- he just raised an eyebrow, keeping his concerned gaze fixed on Link. 

"Alright. Fine. I'm not fine." Link sat up, wrapping his arms around his chest and looking down at the floor. "I get nightmares sometimes, that's all. I don't want to talk about it." He turned away from Sheik, keeping his head bent low. 

A week or two ago, Sheik would have simply shrugged and left Link to his rare bad mood, but not anymore. Things had changed at some point, and whilst he was still incredibly aware of how much he owed to Link, it felt like their bond was different now. More than just a fugitive and his host. 

"You never want to talk about it." Sheik kept his voice steady, his words gentle. "Have you ever thought that perhaps sharing your problems could alleviate them a little? That having someone to confide in could ease the burden that you carry with you? I am the one with damaged wings, but you seem unable to fly for an entirely different reason, one that I cannot fully understand. Perhaps it is the weight of whatever you are hiding in your past."

Link turned back to him. He was clearly fighting to keep his expression neutral, chewing on the inside of his lip. "I- how's your wing doing this morning? Has your magic healed it much yet?"

"Link..."

"Stop it. I never talk about this with anyone. I don't- I can't. You don't understand. You'll think differently of me, and I couldn't bear that."

"How could I judge you when you have done so much for me?" Sheik reached over, laid a hand on Link's knee. "You've saved my life at least twice, perhaps three times. You've fed me and given me clothes and a bed to sleep in. You broke me out of jail at your own risk and now I am trusting you to keep me safe, no matter what happens next. My life is in your hands. I could not judge you."

"You don't understand," Link protested weakly, but it was clear that his resolve was weakening. He glanced down at Sheik's hand on his knee, breathing another long sigh. "Alright..." 

"Thank you." Sheik smiled softly, leaving his hand where it was, a sort of comforting anchor, should Link happen to need one of those. 

"Let's just... I'll just do this. Alright. I'm- I'm not who you think I am. You probably think I've always been rich like this, but... I already told you I was adopted, but I wasn't adopted from anywhere nice." Link rubbed a hand across his face, preparing himself. "I spent most of my childhood in a children's home. It wasn't nice at all. I had to learn to fight so I could defend myself against the others there. They bullied me because of my wings, how different they are."

Sheik frowned, looking over at Link's wings. They glowed a soft green in the dim light of the shelter, as interesting and as beautiful as he'd thought they were the very first time he met Link. "Why were you in a children's home? If you don't mind me asking." 

"No, it's fine, um... My mother died when I was small. And my father couldn't stand me. I'm named after the old Hero of Legend, but he always used to remind me that I would never be a hero because I'm not- I'm not-" Link broke off, burying his face in his hands. Sheik could hear muffled sobbing, and he shuffled closer to put a careful arm around Link's shoulders. 

"Link? If it's hurting you to tell me this, you can stop. I never meant to upset you, I promise."

"No, it's fine..." Link sniffled, lifting his face from his hands. It was streaked with tears and his eyes were red, but there was a brave set to his jaw now. "You deserve to know. What I was, um, what I was going to say is that I'm not Hylian. Not fully, at least. I know I look it, but my wings- they're the wrong colour, and you saw yesterday night how easily I navigated the forest. It's just in instinct inside me." A small smile slowly appeared on his face. "My mother used to tell me to be proud of it when I was very little, before she died... People say that the Kokiri can't survive outside of the Lost Woods, but that isn't true. They just... They can't live outside for very long. Ten years at most. They start to age normally when they leave, but they can't live without the Great Deku Tree forever."

Sheik had been listening to Link's story with curiosity, but as soon as he mentioned the Kokiri, everything fell into place. No wonder Link's wings were such a startling green. No wonder he'd been so hesitant to talk about his past for so long. "You're half Kokiri... I suppose it makes sense, really. I should have guessed, but it never occurred to me that the colour of your wings was anything but a unique quirk of nature. A lovely quirk, if you don't mind me saying so." 

"You aren't angry with me for keeping it from you? Or- upset, or, I don't know, disgusted?" The smile on Link's face grew wider, his wings glowing brighter with hope and relief. 

"I'm not at all angry, or any of those things. I'm honoured that you felt you could trust me enough to share your story with me." Sheik felt something tighten in his chest when he looked at Link's smile, something unfamiliar and a little exciting. "If I recall correctly, you were going to tell me something a couple days ago, before we were... Interrupted. While you're sharing secrets, perhaps you could divulge what you were going to say then?"

"What? Oh- um, yeah." Link flushed red, glancing sheepishly down at the floor. "I suppose I might as well just... Well, what I was going to say is that I, um, I think I really li-"

The front of the shelter fell away suddenly and Link cut himself off with a strangled cry of surprise. Sheik turned immediately away from Link, a dreadful sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that only intensified when he saw a woman in full royal guard uniform, her face obscured by a helmet. 

"Sheikah! And Link, I knew you'd be here. I've been looking for you. If you want to live, don't say a word and follow me. Understood?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do love a good cliffhanger. Feel free to tell me how evil I am in the comments~
> 
> ~Em


	12. Rescue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All is not as it seems, in more ways than one.

Link, much to Sheik's surprise, didn't seem terribly worried. Sheik had to wonder if he had some sort of backup plan- if that was the case, he really hoped Link saw fit to tell him about it as soon as possible. 

The guardswoman was leading them out of the forest, although not in the direction they'd entered in. Instead, they were headed a different way entirely, following a rough path through the forest that led out, after some time, onto a grassy field. 

Eventually, they stopped, under cover of a rocky outcrop near the centre of the field. The guard glanced around, obviously determining the place as safe, and spoke again. 

"This place is far enough away from the rest of the guards so as not to arouse suspicion. Link, I assume you have recognised me. I think it's about time we let your friend in on the secret, don't you?" The guard reached up to pull off her helmet, and Sheik found himself staring at the face of the Crown Princess of Hyrule. 

"Your Majesty!" It occurred to Sheik through the sudden shock that had frozen him temporarily in place that it would probably be a good idea to bow, and so he did. "I'm- I'm afraid I don't quite understand what is going on, Your Majesty. You seem to mean me no harm, but I cannot see why you are here?" 

"There is no need to bow. My people have harmed yours enough, I should be the one on my knees begging forgiveness from you." Zelda reached out, laying a hand on his shoulder. "Link came to the castle the day you were imprisoned, and he begged an audience with me. I granted it- we have spoken before, I often see him in the castle library- and he explained to me your plight. I helped him to plan your escape; it was me who took the key for the cells for him to give to you. When word got out that you had escaped, I offered to join the search party to look for you. You're lucky that I was the first to find you. It would have been considerably harder to remove you from the clutches of the other guards, and you may not have survived wholly intact."

Sheik just stood and listened to her story, speechless. He glanced to Link, who was grinning with a mixture of pride and smugness. 

"You," Sheik said, a little disbelievingly. "You called on the Princess to help me. I could-" he stopped himself talking before he ended that sentence with 'kiss you right now' and settled for a hug instead. He turned to Zelda afterwards, falling into another bow even though she'd said not to. "Thank you, Your Majesty. I am indebted to you for your kindness. You will truly make a wonderful and wise queen, I know it."

"Zelda, um, I know we didn't have much time to discuss it, but- have you got any ideas for keeping Sheik safe? I can't hide him forever, someone is going to find him one day." Link shuffled his feet nervously, and Sheik stood up from his bow. He was right, if Sheik was honest with himself. As much as he wished he could live the rest of his days in safety, there would come a time when he would have to leave or risk his own demise. 

"As a matter of fact, I have. As you will know, Link, my father passed away several months ago now, and it will be the time for my coronation in mere weeks, now. I intend for my first act as Queen to be repealing the law requiring Sheikah to be grounded. Sheik will be safe by law, then, if not accepted by the people. That will take more work, I am afraid. But Hyrule is in a period of great change, I am certain that with time, the many people that we have outcast will come to be recognised and respected as well as any Hylian would be. I want my kingdom to be a place of equality and strength, and we cannot do that as we currently are." Zelda bowed her head sadly. "Sheik, I cannot apologise enough for the actions of my father and his court, and the suffering your people have known these past few years."

"None of it was your fault," Sheik assured her. "To bring the conversation away from the future and back to today, how am I going to survive the weeks until your coronation? The Royal Guard and the citizens of Hyrule will be on high alert- I'll never get back into Castle Town undetected."

"You worry for nothing, Sheik. Link tells me that when he found you, you were on your way to Kakariko Village, yes?"

"Yes, I was travelling there in the hopes that there would be a few of my people there. Fugitives like me, perhaps."

Zelda looked like she was about to speak again, but Link cut in, a grin on his face. "Can I show him? Please? You should probably get back to the guards, anyway, they'll get worried. Or suspicious. And that would be bad."

"You have a point, Link. Very well, I shall bid you goodbye." She smiled fondly at him, then bent her head to Sheik. "I'm very glad I could aid in your escape. I hope to get to know you better in the future, Sheik." 

"It's been a pleasure, Your Majesty." Sheik bowed his head in respect, and Link waved goodbye, and then Zelda was gone. He turned back to Link, relaxing a little now that he wasn't in the presence of royalty. "You continue to surprise me in so many ways, Link- what could you possibly want to show me now? I doubt it could possibly surprise me anymore." 

"Just you wait and see." Link grinned, then grabbed Sheik's arm and took off running across the field, over thinner grass, and onto rockier plains. 

"This is the way to Kakariko Village if I'm not mistaken, Link. Why can I sense magic?" 

"It's a deterrent spell to keep almost everyone away, set up by- oh, you'll see." Link sounded a little out of breath, his wings lending an extra spring to his step so that he could keep pace with Sheik's long strides. Sheik could see that he looked faintly queasy, too- clearly he was being affected by the spell. He had to wonder who could possibly have set up such a strong spell, unless... No, he couldn't let himself hope, it was dangerous, he'd only be disappointed...

They ran on, eventually slowing to a walk when Link couldn't run any more. He still kept his grip on Sheik's arm, and it tightened as they approached the village. The spell was clearly affecting him more now- his jaw was clenched right and his feet were dragging on the ground. 

"You can turn back if you want," Sheik said, voice full of concern. "I'll go on alone."

"No," came the immediate reply. "I want to see your face."

That was that, then. Sheik pulled Link a little closer to him, hoping that the closeness would provide some alleviation of discomfort for him. They were only about three hundred metres or so from Kakariko now, and Sheik's eyes must be deceiving him because he swore he could see faint shapes of people moving around there. Not just a few people, either- at least twenty, maybe more. 

A sudden spark of hope flared inside him, and he glanced to Link, barely daring to ask. "Link, is this- are they really-"

He got no response, just a grin. That just set the spark glowing brighter, sending nervous tremors through his limbs as he approached. 

From twenty metres away, Sheik was almost sure that his instinct had been right. Ten metres, and he was certain. He stopped in his tracks, unable to walk on at the moment, unable to do anything except stare in shock and wonder. 

In front of him, spread out across the whole of the previously abandoned Kakariko Village, was a community of at least a hundred Sheikah.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops another cliffhanger, at least it's a nice one this time. Comments are appreciated as always!
> 
> ~Em


	13. Confession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sheik has his people, but there's something missing.

It was sort of a pet project of Zelda's, Sheik was told eventually. The village community had started with three grounded Sheikah that she had come across while out riding her horse about a month ago, and word had spread from there that Kakariko Village was once again becoming a place of relative safety for the Sheikah. 

Link and Sheik had apparently been expected there, because no one had seemed surprised to see the two of them approach the village on the day they'd arrived. Link couldn't stay- it would have been suspicious if a young Hylian noble had simply disappeared so soon after a Sheikah had been arrested in his custody- but there had been a small house prepared for Sheik already. It was incredibly basic, as could be expected from an previously-abandoned village, but it was far better than having nowhere. 

Most of the inhabitants of the village were grounded, and had been since the law was first passed. It broke Sheik's heart to see children no older than seven or eight staring enviously at his wings whenever he went outside, because he knew they must have been too young to even understand what was going on when the law passed. He knew that the few other ungrounded residents of the village shared his sadness- two of them, a pair of older women, were apparently working on a spell to regrow amputated wings, but they'd had no success as of yet. 

As nice as it was to be back around his own kind after so long, Sheik couldn't help but feel a little out of place. There was no one from his old tribe here, and he'd searched long and hard just to make absolutely sure. Everyone knew each other already, and Sheik found himself feeling isolated. 

There was no one to spar with in the mornings here, no one to talk about Hylian history or books or swordplay with over lunch, no one to share the same easy companionship with that he'd shared with Link. Sheik could do his wing exercises all he wanted, but it was no fun without some dusty old book to read whilst doing them. 

To put it quite simply, Sheik was bored. 

At least three weeks went by- or maybe it was more, he had honestly stopped counting after the first few days- and Sheik was fairly sure he was getting a reputation as the village recluse. To be fair, it was a well-deserved reputation, but that didn't really make it any better. 

It was late evening on what was in fact the twenty third day of his time in Kakariko Village that Sheik found himself perched on the roof of his small house, idly picking at the dirty clay tiles and gazing forlornly up at the clouded sky. He'd hoped there would be stars, but a harsh wind had blown in from beyond Lake Hylia and swept great swathes of cloud across the darkening sky. 

As happened so often these days, his thoughts drifted to Link. Sheik had to wonder how he was getting on, if he'd managed to explain himself to Tala, if he'd spoken to Zelda any more. They had seemed quite close from the conversations Sheik had witnessed between them- a pang of jealously twisted in his stomach, and he frowned. He was being unreasonable, there was no need to be jealous of Link's friendship with the Princess.

A clay tile fell off the roof under his hand and slipped to the floor, shattering into several pieces on the hard ground below. Sheik bit his lip guiltily, sliding off the roof and letting a few gentle wingbeats slow his descent. He knelt down to pick up the broken red-brown pieces, hoping that no one else had witnessed his act of clumsiness. 

The sudden sound of running footsteps distracted Sheik from his task- one of the others in the village had likely been alerted by the noise and was coming to see what was wrong. He glanced up, the reassuring words he'd been about to say dying on his tongue when he saw who it was. 

"Link!" The broken tile shards slipped out of his hand as he ran to greet the Hylian, a smile spreading across his face. "What are you doing here? Is everything alright?" 

"Everything's fine." Link grinned back, taking a moment to stop and catch his breath. "I just, um, missed you. And it's Zelda's coronation tomorrow, and I wanted to see you before then."

"I missed you too." A pleasant warmth settled itself in Sheik's stomach at the knowledge that he hadn't been the only one feeling lonely. "Sorry, I broke a tile on my roof. I should really finish picking it up." He bent down again to gather up the shards, cupping them in both hands. "Come inside, won't you? It's getting cold out here." 

"Oh! Um, okay. Sure." Link hurried inside after Sheik, glancing around the little house. "It's definitely small in here..."

"I know. Rather a long shot from your house, isn't it?" Sheik laughed, emptying the tile pieces into a bin and turning back to Link. "How have you been?"

"Me? Um, fine, I guess." Link shrugged, sounding oddly cagey in his response. "You?" 

"I've been much worse in the past, certainly." Sheik scuffed one shoe on the floor, not wanting to admit how bored he'd been. "It's fine here. I suppose it's been pleasant to be around my own kind again, in a way."

"I suppose it would be..." Link stepped closer, then moved away again, bringing one hand up to smooth his hair. "I guess that means you'll be wanting to stay here once Zelda changes the law, then... It's okay, I thought you probably would. I was expecting it. I mean, you're welcome to visit, I'd like that... I'd really like that... But you don't have to. Um."

"Stay?" Sheik frowned- he'd been hoping this would just be temporary accommodation, the sooner he was out of here, the better. "I don't- I wasn't planning on- it's up to you, of course, but I was really rather hoping you'd let me move back in with you."

"What?" 

"It's up to you. If you'd rather, I can stay here."

"No! No, I just- thinking about it now, there's something I've been keeping from you that's probably going to change your mind..." Link stepped back even further, a deep blush colouring his cheeks and the tips of his ears. "I tried to tell you, but it didn't exactly work either time..."

"What do you mean?" Sheik tilted his head, concerned and curious. "Are you alright? Is there something wrong?"

"No! Nothing's wrong. No. I just, um..." Link took a breath, clasping his hands nervously in front of him as if for extra courage. "I just think I might be falling in love with you and I don't want you to hate me for it, I'm sorry, please don't hate me for it..."

Sheik froze, a strange sort of icy cold yet warm adrenaline rushing into his veins. "You- you're..." He just stared in shock at Link, desperately trying to catch up to the situation. 

"I'm sorry..." Link was backing away slowly, one hand reaching out behind him for the door. "I know, I'm a freak, I'm sorry, I won't ever talk to you again if you don't want me to..."

"No!" Sheik reached over and grabbed his arm before his brain really had a chance to catch up to the rest of him. "No. You aren't going anywhere." He bent down, using his free hand to hold Link's face still, and pressed a clumsy kiss to the stunned Hylian's lips. "You aren't going anywhere, alright? Stay the night. Please. I missed you." Another kiss, a little less clumsy this time. 

"Stay? Y-yeah. I'll stay." Link sounded somewhere between dazed and jubilant, and it was honestly the sweetest thing Sheik had ever heard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I dedicate this chapter to everyone who desperately wanted Link to hurry up and confess already. Comments are appreciated as always!
> 
> ~Em


	14. Coronation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zelda is crowned queen, and there is hope in the world.

Sheik woke up with someone else pressed close against him, and he could feel a hand nestled right between his wings. Awareness came to him slowly, and brought with it memories of the previous night, memories he was going to keep safe in his mind forever. 

"Link... Are you awake?"

"No," came the muffled, sleepy response, and Sheik let out a soft laugh. "Stop laughing at me, I'm tiiiired..." Link buried his face into Sheik's chest. "Can we stay here for five more minutes? Please?"

"Fine, five more minutes."

In the end, five minutes ended up more like twenty. There was simply no way Link was letting Sheik get up without his fair share of kisses and gentle hands trailing over the delicate warmth of wings, and by the time he was satisfied, the sun had risen fully and started its daily climb through the sky. 

Link, as it turned out, had to leave not too long after he'd finally dragged himself out of bed. As it was the day of Zelda's coronation, he was expected to attend, and he'd have to get home and make himself look presentable before he would be allowed into the castle. 

"It won't be long until you'll be able to live freely in Castle Town," he promised before he left. "And until then, I'll visit you often. Every few days if I can." One last kiss, and then he was off, leaving Sheik to go about his daily life as had become his usual. 

He spent the day outside, uncharacteristically, feeling at last like he belonged a little in this village. Whatever had been missing was no longer missing, and there was nothing in his heart but hope for a brighter future. Speaking to some of the people around him, he learned that perhaps half of the village was intending to move into Castle Town, and half was intending to remain here. 

Whilst Sheik felt assured of his future, safe in the knowledge that he would be able to live contentedly with Link when he left the village, he had to admire the bravery of those who had no previous home in Castle Town. Laws changed faster than attitudes- it would be hard for them to find a place to live, but they would try nonetheless. As long as they had their community, he was told many times, they would be alright. 

Sheik remembered having that attitude once, a long time ago. His old tribe had meant everything to him. Losing them had shattered him for such a long time, altered him in ways that he still felt the effects of to this day. Maybe he could one day share that same sense of community with the people of this village. It would be nice to have that assurance, that protection once again. 

-

It was fast approaching midnight, and Sheik could not sleep. He wondered if the coronation had gone according to plan, if Zelda was going to make good on her promise of changing the law as soon as possible. It all had the potential to get forgotten about amidst a sea of so many other regulations and plans, Sheik was painfully aware of that. Zelda had sounded so sure when he last spoke to her, but worry still seethed inside of him. 

The sound of wingbeats pulled him from his thoughts, and Sheik knew without seeing that it had to be Link. Pushing open his front door, his suspicions were confirmed. Link was wearing the same outfit he had been wearing when he broke Sheik out of prison, the gold-and-green finery that made him look almost like a Hylian prince. 

"You're back sooner than expected," Sheik remarked. He opened his arms for a hug, hoping that Link would be able to soothe his worries. "How did the coronation go?"

"Very well. Zelda looked SO nice, I wish you could have seen..." Link pulled away from the hug, stepping inside Sheik's house and perching himself on a stool. "She's already caused plenty of unrest by firing most of the council- all the people who supported her father's ideals. And, um-" Link grinned proudly. "She's given me a position in the court. I wasn't expecting it at all, she just came up and asked at the party after the coronation and I almost spat my drink out all over her. But, um, anyway. I'm in her new royal court, my official job is to be the Hylian ambassador when speaking to the different species of Hyrule. It's mostly Sheikah, I think, but I might have to go all the way to the Gerudo Desert sometimes. And the Zora's Domain. It's going to be good, I hope. Zelda trusted me with the job, I can't let her down."

Sheik took a seat himself, listening with interest to Link's story. "I'm proud of you," he said, smiling. "Promise me you'll be careful if you're going away to the four corners of Hyrule. Either that, or let me come with you. It'd be nice to travel Hyrule without having my wings bound." 

"I'm sure I can take you. Maybe. I'll have to ask Zelda, but it ought to be alright. Oh- and she already announced her intentions to change the grounding law. There's been some opposition, but also there's a surprising number of people in favour of it." Link grinned. "Maybe Hyrule won't take too long to adjust after all."

Sheik felt the worry he'd been feeling all day uncurl from his stomach, leaving him feeling about twice as light. "Thank the goddesses for that. You have no idea what a relief it is to know all of that."

"I can imagine. I suppose everything's looking up now, really." Link reached over, taking hold of Sheik's hand. "I'm glad I met you when I did. You're- you've made me happier."

"And you saved my life- what, five times? So, I would say we're equal." 

"Equal works for me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, only one, possibly two chapters left after this one. Wow. Comments appreciated as always!  
> ~Em


	15. Flight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The new law passes, and Sheik is free.

In the end, it took almost a month for the law to be passed. Link visited Sheik often with stories of Zelda's unbounded rage at various bigoted people who dared challenge her authority, making Sheik laugh out loud with his (terrible) impressions of the queen. 

Link also told him stories of how plenty of people were in support of the law changing- how Hylian citizens had offered rooms in their own homes for Sheikah returning to Castle Town, how some of the best sorcerers in the land were working on spells to regrow wings. It seemed like at least half of Hyrule was determined to welcome the Sheikah. 

Sheik had all of his possessions packed up into a bag the night before the new laws officially came to pass- he wanted to be ready to leave Kakariko as soon as he possibly could, wanted to walk as a free citizen among the people of the world. And above all else, he wanted to fly. 

Link was at his house early in the morning, his excited knocking bringing Sheik to the door within seconds. 

"Today's the day! You get to come back, finally," Link enthused, wrapping the Sheikah in a tight hug. "I've missed having you around all the time. Are you ready to go?"

"I'm ready, yes." Sheik detached Link's arms from around him and fetched his small bag of belongings, taking one last glance around the house before stepping outside and shutting the door. A few others had already left the village; plenty more were packing up as they spoke. 

"Alright. Come on, let's go!" Link grabbed hold of his hand, but Sheik stayed where he was, prompting the Hylian to give him a concerned look. "Is everything alright?" 

"Everything's fine," Sheik said. "I just- I'd love it if we could fly back. I haven't been in the sky for years..."

And that was how, twenty minutes later, Sheik came to be soaring high over Castle Town with Link at his side, nothing but joy and exhilaration in his mind as he felt the sun on his back and the wind blowing strong beneath his wings. Flying was like nothing else- the pure happiness that came from being in the air was addictive. 

He looked over at Link to see the Hylian already watching him, and happy warmth swelled in his chest. The skies were open to him, now, and the land would no longer be a place of danger. He was free, finally free after so agonisingly long, and flight had never felt better. 

~

It was the middle of summer, and Sheik was sitting on the roof. The late evening heat was enough to make him pleasantly drowsy, but he would stay out here long enough to watch the sunset. 

Link was sat next to him, his head resting on Sheik's shoulder and the end of his newly-grown short ponytail tickling Sheik's back. Neither of them felt quite like speaking at the moment, not in this rare time of peace. 

It had been five years since Zelda had become queen, now. Five years since the laws had changed, and things were looking good. Link's job as ambassador had taken him all over Hyrule, even outside of Hyrule, and Sheik had found a job of his own. In a way, at least. Looking after children certainly felt like a job sometimes. 

They hadn't MEANT to adopt two children, but it had happened anyway. Someone had brought two Sheikah infants to the castle three years ago, claiming that their parents weren't able to look after them. Zelda, in her hunt to find someone to look after them, had stumbled across Link. And Link just hadn't been able to say no. 

The pair of them were in bed now, though, giving Sheik and Link a while to themselves until one child, or quite possibly both children, woke up and demanded to be read another story or given a bedtime snack to eat. 

The sun sunk another inch below the horizon, lighting the sky on fire with deep orange and red. Sheik shifted just a little on the rooftop, and the motion suddenly reminded him of the small, heavy weight resting in his pocket. 

Now seemed as good a time as any. 

"Hey, Link, you still awake?" Sheik prodded him gently, and the Hylian lifted his head and gave him a slightly resentful look. 

"Yup... Just about. Why'd you move, did you hear one of the kids or something?" 

"No, no. I just wanted to ask you something." Sheik's tongue darted out to nervously wet his lips, and his wings flared out behind him. The sun caught on their golden edges, the light almost appearing to set them ablaze. 

"Goddesses, your wings are beautiful," Link murmured, momentarily distracted. He brought his attention back to Sheik's face, smiling in that sweet little way that made Sheik's chest go tight. "What did you want to ask?"

Sheik surreptitiously dug in his pocket, clenching the small object in his fist as he tried to gather his courage. "I... I wanted to ask-" he sighed, praying silently to the goddesses that nothing would go badly. "Marry me?"

He opened his fist, offering Link a thin gold band with a green stone set in it. The Hylian just stared at him for a moment, as if uncomprehending, and Sheik worried for a brief second that he'd just ruined everything. 

And then Link tackled him with a hug, showering kisses over Sheik's face and smiling madly all the while. "Yes! Of course I will, yes, Sheik..." He pulled away a little, taking the ring from Sheik's palm and sliding it onto one finger. "How long have you been holding onto this for?"

"About six months," he said, truthfully. "I bought it when you were away in the Gerudo Desert, I figured I'd find the time to ask you eventually."

"Six months?" Link laughed, holding up his hand and admiring the way the green gem sparkled in the fading light. "I love you so much, you know that?"

"I do know that. You tell me a lot." Sheik grinned and kissed Link, a long minute full of joy and love and relief. "I love you too."

"We should head inside, it's starting to get kinda cold..."

"True. And anyway, I need to show you, my dear fiancé, just how much I love you. And I don't think all of Castle Town needs to watch." 

Link laughed at that, and Sheik took hold of his hand and led him inside. The sun set, leaving Castle Town in the cool darkness of a midsummer night, and all was well in the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaand, it's over! This has been fun to write, so I hope it's been just as fun for you to read. I've had that little epilogue bit in my head since I started writing chapter one, honestly. It might be my favourite bit of this whole story. Anyway, comments are greatly appreciated as always! I hope you've enjoyed this fic, it's my precious child and now it's FINISHED, finally.   
> ~Em


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